Chicago cop charged with murder in fatal shooting of unarmed man

FOX 32 NEWS - A Chicago police officer has been charged in the murder of Jose Nieves, who was unarmed and fatally shot on the Northwest Side.

Autopsy results found Nieves died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Nieves did not have a weapon, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the officer, 57-year-old Lowell Houser, was assigned to the mass transit unit, does not live in the area where the shooting occurred and knew the person he shot from another "confrontation a few weeks ago."

An "altercation" between the men escalated about 9:30 a.m. January 2 in front of a residence in the 2500 block of North Lowell, and the officer shot him multiple times, according to a police statement. Nieves was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died at 9:51 a.m., authorities said.

Following the murder charge, the attorney for the family of Jose Nieves released the following statement:

"The Nieve's family is devastated by the loss of Jose. The State's Attorney's action today will not bring back Jose but is an important and swift step in the criminal justice process."